The Avon Lake Good Neighbor Thrift Shop celebrates 30 years
Avon Lake's Good Neighbor Thrift Shop looks almost exactly the same as it did when it opened 30 years ago.
Alison MeaneyRegular patrons know the Good Neighbor Thrift Store by its welcoming volunteers and loving atmosphere.
The merchandise is still "anything a garage sale would have" and the storefront was changed (only slightly) sometime back in the '80s.
One thing that has changed is store profits. Last year was the thrift store's most successful since it opened in April 1979. While that is good for the United Church of Christ's missions, it is costly for the shop's 30 volunteers.
"It's the kind of place where it costs you more money to work there," said longtime volunteer Thelma Morningstar.
Since the store opened its doors, it has aided everyone from Meals-on-Wheels, Haven Center and hospitals in India to its own regular customers who know the store by its comfortable environment and friendly volunteers.
This kind of "good neighbor" relationship with the shop's clientele is what Morningstar calls outreach ministry.
"We keep track of our customers," she said. "We ask them about their life, and if we haven't seen them in a while, we make a big fuss about them and make them feel good. You don't have to come to church, but we're practicing our faith by being kind and loving to other people."
Though customers are Morningstar's favorite people to serve, Good Neighbor Thrift Shop representatives said they are proud to have supported a former United Church of Christ parishioner and Avon Lake resident -- Nancy Lott and her husband Viru Henry -- in their efforts to run a hospital in Northern India.
Since they retired, their son took up the cause, and has been operating another "run-
down" hospital in India.
Though church members have gone abroad to help out at the hospitals, the thrift shop has done its part by sending a steady stream of funds and medical supplies to aid the facilities.
So, as long as the shop continues to grow and successfully fund programs in the community and India, the Good Neighbor Thrift Shop will continue to offer tax deductions for donations, give return all of its revenue to various missions and most likely keep the vintage sign above its hodgepodge storefront.
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